4 ms·

I think the problem stems more from the nature of technology itself. I run a marketing consultancy. I can't really offload my work to cheaper talent because my

I think the problem stems more from the nature of technology itself. I run a marketing consultancy. I can't really offload my work to cheaper talent because my deliverables can be easily evaluated. Good writing and good design, after all, are universally accessible. But unless you're a programmer, you can't really make out good code from bad code.

CaptainZapp 8y ago
It's not only that. The main problem is that it's virtually impossible to come up with specifications, which are precise enough that they can be implemented 1:1. Outsourcing companies will aim for the lowest common denominator, which the contract allows and with which they can get away with. Case in point? I can exactly tell you what the specs for the first time reporting system I worked with at MajorCorp said, without ever having seen those specs: Must be able to enter hours That's exactly what we could do. Enter hours. Not minutes, not ten minute intervals, not quarter - or half hours, no; hours. When I get such a spec I hit back with questions. Send that to an outsourcer and they won't see any need to provide a yota more than what the spec says. In other words: You entering a world of pain, which looks good on spreadsheet but really only that.
mtberatwork 8y ago
> But unless you're a programmer, you can't really make out good code from bad code. That's not always true. We recently dropped a small consulting company (~20 people, US based) that was awarded a small (but not necessarily trivial) project and really bungled things up. The end product was delayed numerous times, noticeably sluggish and riddled with bugs. It would have been an easy win for this company and would have led to more recurring work, but for whatever reason, they decided to assign the project to a single junior programmer without any oversight.

4 ms·

I think the problem stems more from the nature of technology itself. I run a marketing consultancy. I can't really offload my work to cheaper talent because my

by puranjay 8y ago

CaptainZapp 8y ago
It's not only that. The main problem is that it's virtually impossible to come up with specifications, which are precise enough that they can be implemented 1:1. Outsourcing companies will aim for the lowest common denominator, which the contract allows and with which they can get away with. Case in point? I can exactly tell you what the specs for the first time reporting system I worked with at MajorCorp said, without ever having seen those specs: Must be able to enter hours That's exactly what we could do. Enter hours. Not minutes, not ten minute intervals, not quarter - or half hours, no; hours. When I get such a spec I hit back with questions. Send that to an outsourcer and they won't see any need to provide a yota more than what the spec says. In other words: You entering a world of pain, which looks good on spreadsheet but really only that.
mtberatwork 8y ago
> But unless you're a programmer, you can't really make out good code from bad code. That's not always true. We recently dropped a small consulting company (~20 people, US based) that was awarded a small (but not necessarily trivial) project and really bungled things up. The end product was delayed numerous times, noticeably sluggish and riddled with bugs. It would have been an easy win for this company and would have led to more recurring work, but for whatever reason, they decided to assign the project to a single junior programmer without any oversight.